Sam Houston State Bearkats football


The Sam Houston State Bearkats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Sam Houston State University located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and are members of the Southland Conference. Sam Houston's first football team was fielded in 1912. The team plays its home games at the 12,593 seat Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. On January 23, 2014, K. C. Keeler was named the 15th head coach in Sam Houston State program history.

History

Sam Houston has fielded a football team since 1912 and have played continuously since 1946 following World War II. The only times the Bearkats did not field a football team were in 1918 for World War I and from 1943 to 1945 for World War II. The Bearkats competed independently from 1912 through 1923, in the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1924 to 1931, in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics from 1932 to 1981, in NCAA Division II from 1982 to 1985 and in NCAA Division I-AA since the 1986 season.
The Bearkats have 11 conference championships, and have seen post-season NCAA playoff action in six seasons, with back-to-back NCAA Division I Championship game appearances in 2011–2012. Sam Houston State also has 3 bowl victories in four games, and one claimed National Championship from NAIA in the 1964 season.

Head coaches

is Sam Houston's and the Southland Conference's all-time winningest coach with 132 wins over a span of 23 years. Randleman also won conference Coach of the Year honors on four occasions, in the Gulf Star Conference in 1985 and 1986, and in the Southland Conference in 1991, and 2001.
Paul Pierce coached the Bearkats to its only National Championship, and also won the 1965 Knute Rockne Little All-American Coach of the Year award.
Willie Fritz coached Sam Houston to back-to-back conference championships and back-to-back national title game appearances in only three years, while being awarded the 2011 AFCA National Coach of the Year award and the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award. He was also named the 2012 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year.
On January 23, 2014, former Delaware head coach K. C. Keeler was named the 15th head coach in Sam Houston State program history.

Championships

National championships

Sam Houston State has one national championship, won during their tenure in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. They played Concordia Cobbers for the championship, with the game resulting in a tie. They were Co-champions with Moorhead.
1964Paul PierceNational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics9–1–1T 7–7Concordia College

Conference championships

Sam Houston State has won 13 conference titles, seven shared and six outright.
1930Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association9–15–0
1955†Lone Star Conference6–1–25–1–1
1956Lone Star Conference10–07–0
1961Lone Star Conference8–17–0
1964†*Lone Star Conference9–1–15–1
1985†Gulf Star Conference8–34–1
1986Gulf Star Conference9–34–1
2001†Southland Conference10–35–1
2004†Southland Conference8–34–1
2011Southland Conference14–17–0
2012†Southland Conference11–46–1
2014†Southland Conference11–57–1
2016Southland Conference12–19–0

† Denotes shared title.
Conference affiliations
Sam Houston State appeared in five bowl games during their time in the NAIA, going 3–0–1 in these bowl games, with the final one notably being for the NAIA championship.
1952Shrimp BowlNortheastern State W 41–20
1953Refrigerator BowlCollege of IdahoW 14–12
1956Refrigerator BowlMiddle Tennessee StateW 27–13
1958Christmas Festival BowlNorthwestern StateL 11–18
1964Championship BowlConcordia CollegeT 7–7

Division I-AA/FCS Playoffs results

The Bearkats have appeared in the I-AA/FCS playoffs 11 times with an overall record of 19–11.
1986First RoundArkansas StateL 7–48
1991First RoundMiddle Tennessee StateL 19–20 OT
2001First Round
Quarterfinals		Northern Arizona
Montana		W 34–31
L 24–49
2004First Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		WKU
Eastern Washington
Montana		W 54–21
W 35–34
L 13–34
2011Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship Game		Stony Brook
Montana State
Montana
North Dakota State		W 34–27
W 49–13
W 31–28
L 6–17
2012Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship Game		Cal Poly
Montana State
Eastern Washington
North Dakota State		W 18–16
W 34–16
W 45–42
L 13–39
2013First Round
Second Round		Southern Utah
Southeastern Louisiana		W 51–20
L 29–30
2014First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Southeastern Louisiana
Jacksonville State
Villanova
North Dakota State		W 21–17
W 37–26
W 34–31
L 3–35
2015First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		Southern Utah
McNeese State
Colgate
Jacksonville State		W 42–39
W 34–29
W 48–21
L 10–62
2016Second Round
Quarterfinals		Chattanooga
James Madison		W 41–36
L 7–65
2017Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals		South Dakota
Kennesaw State
North Dakota State		W 54-42
W 34-27
L 13–55

Home stadiums

Pritchett Field (1912–1985)

The Bearkats' home for football was on Pritchett Field for 73 years beginning with their first football game against Rice University in 1912. The field was named after Joseph Pritchett, brother of the university's fourth president Henry Carr Pritchett, and former owner of the land the field rests on.
The final football game played on Pritchett Field was a victory for the Bearkats with a score of 51–7, defeating Washburn University. Sam Houston State Football began playing games at Bowers Stadium following the 1985 season. The complex is currently home to Sam Houston Women's Soccer and Club Lacrosse.
On April 18, 2013, football was played on Pritchett Field for the first time since 1985 for the annual Orange-White spring game. The event also included the presentation of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award to head coach Willie Fritz.

Bowers Stadium (1986–present)

, formerly Bearkat Stadium, is currently home to both Sam Houston State Football and the Track and Field programs beginning with the 1986 season. Bowers Stadium has a capacity of 14,000. However, 16,148 fans packed Bowers Stadium in 1994 to watch Alcorn State led by NFL bound quarterback Steve McNair in a 48-23 SAM HOUSTON victory on regional ABC-TV.

Rivalries

Stephen F. Austin

The Sam Houston State/Stephen F. Austin rivalry game, also known as the Battle of the Piney Woods, is a yearly rivalry held in NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The two teams have met 91 times with Sam Houston leading the series 54-35-2. The Battle of the Piney Woods is Texas' second longest FCS rivalry. The most recent meeting ending with the Bearkats dominating the Lumberjacks 63-28 in front of 27,411 fans and clinching their 6th win in a row

Notable former players

Bearkats in the National Football League

Sam Houston has had 36 alumni play in the National Football League, with 19 players selected in the Draft. During the 2018 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders selected defensive lineman P. J. Hall in the second round. This represents the highest a Bearkat player has been drafted by an NFL team.

National awards

Sam Houston State University has had a total of 73 players selected into the College Football All-America Team, including 43 NCAA All-Americans and 30 NAIA All-Americans. A number of these players have also been considered for major national awards. In 2016, quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe became the first Bearkat to win the Payton Award. In 2017 he became the first Bearkat to win two Payton Awards and only the second FCS player to win multiple Payton Awards after former Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards became the first in 2009.
Major honors
Most Outstanding Offensive Player
Most Outstanding Defensive Player
Coach of the Year

Conference awards

Sam Houston State has had 407 All-Conference selections and honorable mentions, including 202 in the Southland Conference, 25 in the Gulf Star Conference, 173 in the Lone Star Conference, and 7 in the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Rushing records